The selection
by hakey101198
Summary: It's decades into the future, and the kingdom needs a distraction. The king turns to something he knows will work. A selection. Its always worked in the past. This time young women will be competing for his son, Jeremy's heart.
1. Chapter 1

This is my first fan fiction so please bare with me. I would love it if you commented on it. Tell me want I should work on, what you liked, want you disliked. I really want to improve my writing skills.

POV: Clare

The town's office was extremely busy. Packed with eager young women sending their portfolios to the palace. Word of a new selection was released on the report a few days ago. Women between the ages of seventeen to twenty-three that were wanting a shot at romance and being the next queen where impelled to register.

I wasn't interested in the romance or becoming queen, but I knew if I won or was part of the elite it would give my family a better life. We are currently living on the outskirts of the kingdom. It's been decades since the number system was squandered but our family of sevens were never able to find work. They moved to the outskirts when they heard that there were jobs mining in the caverns. But the outskirts are not very safe.

My parents are constantly worrying about the next attack, bracken, theft. It's all we every think about. We have loose floor boards that hind away anything of value that's too precious to loss, pictures, spare money, birth certificates, old family air looms, and the radio we listen to the report on.

I asked for the day off at the cafeteria. I wouldn't call if a job its more community service, but I get to take home leftover food for my family. The nearest town's office was four hours away. I had to hitch a ride with a stranger, but that's not new for me. Whenever our family goes anywhere we always hitch a ride. Now four hours later with a vanilla folder in my hand I'm waiting in line for a chance to compete for the prince's hand in marriage.

"Next!" an older man behind a large desk calls out.

I walk up to the desk silently. Laying all my registration information in front of me.

"Name and age young lady?" He's asked not paying much intension. I could be a ten year old boy and he wouldn't notice.

"Clary Eger. Eighteen."

He doesn't look up. He stamps the folder, puts it in a giant pile of vanilla folders, and yells next. He mostly likely been doing this for days. I turn to leave but I'm stopped by a picture on the wall. A picture of the royal family. I never seem a picture of them before. There are no portraits in the outskirts, and no one owns a television. It's the first time I've seem what they look like. My eyes were drawn to the prince. He was stunning and sophisticated. Dark brown hair, green eyes that light up his charming smile. He had brood shoulders and was tall compared to the queen. The royal family had some good genes. All of a sudden I got a pit in my stomach. I looked around at the beautiful woman registering. How am I ever going to compete with them? I come from a poor family and am not beautiful like most girls. My hair is an award mix between blond and brown. My skin is as pail as it comes. I'm scary skinny, because of the lack of food available. My teeth aren't perfected. I have nothing really going for me. How am I supposed to win the prince's heart and give my family a better life? I felt like I already lost and failed my family.

It was late evening. I walked along the road for an hour before I was able to hitch a ride and they were only able to bring me so far. I had to walk the last hour. I was walking by the cafeteria and decided to hop my head in.

"Clare!" I knew that voice anywhere. Daphne was ready walking away from the serving tables to come talk to me. Her raven black hair was pulled away from her face and an apron rapped around her petit body. She and I volunteered here together for years. First serving meals, then cooking in the kitchen. Although cooking didn't last long for her. Everyone quickly learned Daphne she was not a gifted cook and she was back to serving meals. I on the other hand did really well in that area and I would like to think I'm good at it.

"What's up?" I asked her.

"Are you really asking me what's up? You know what I've been up to. Where have you been? You can't leave me alone here. I'll have no one to talk to expect Garry"

I waited to make sure she was done talking. Daphne you were never sure if she was giving you time to answer one of her hundred question or if she was just talking a breath. When I realized she was waiting for me to answer I finally told what I've been up to.

"I wish I could enter the selection." She moaned. Daphne just turned twenty four making her ineligible to enter. "The clothes, the food, the beds." She went on naming all the luxuries of a palace life.

"The drama, the obligations, the rules, the heartbreak." I cut her off. "Truly I have no idea why I entered."

"You know exactly why you entered. I know why you entered. A competition like that is the only thing that's going to get you and your family out of this place even if to don't win."

"Please don't tell my family that I entered. I don't want to get their hopes up." I begged.

"I'm not good with secretes girl, but I'll try."

We chatted for a while longer. I started serving meals and helped clean after, and I made a few plates of food to take home. Daphne went on and on about what it would be like to live in the palace. Want dresses she'd wear. What her room would look like. What food she'd eat, of course hiring me to cook for her. I started to wonder myself. What if I did get picked? What would it be like to live in the palace? The kitchen must be a palace of its own, and the produce must be amazing. Once I realized I was day dreaming I snapped out of it. I didn't want to much hope, because I knew I would be let down in the end.

POV: Jeremy

I never imagined what the perfect girl would look like or act like. I don't really know what I look for in a girl, I always just knew what not to look for. A girl that compliments, praises, and flatters me just so they could get something out of it. All everyone every wants is something from me because of my title. Girls only want something they can go gossip about to their friends. The worse part about the selection is not about having my personal life broadcasted for the entire kingdom to watch, it's the fact that the only girls registering are the girls that I despise. I would like a wife someday, someone to share a life and family with. Expect I only get to choose a girl that only wants a prince to love her not me.

I begged my father to just marry me off to a daughter of a noble family or princess to another country. At less that way I won't haft to deal with love sick puppies. He wouldn't buy in to the idea. He always just said that the kingdom needs the distraction. That the selection would keep their minds off the fact that the borders are becoming unsafe with enemy armies.

The selection has not been a mandatory thing for decades, but it seem like there's one whenever the kingdom's in trouble and the people need a distraction. That's all it ever is. A distraction, and the people fall in to it every time. They're gullible, and I'm the one being punished.


	2. Chapter 2

The selection chapter two

I sat in one of the chairs surrounding our small dining table. My mother seated to my right, my eight-year-old sister, Kimmy, to the left, and my father seated a crossed the table. All eating the meals I brought home from the cafeteria. It had been a few days since I registered for the selection and the names of the selected would be revealed tonight. I was nervous, excited, scared. I need to be picked. It was my family's only hope. I didn't tell them I entered. I didn't want to let them down if I wasn't picked. I didn't say much about the subject on the selection. Although Kimmy had an ear full to say about it. I wished, at least for her sake, I was picked. I didn't want her to grow up the way I did.

"Can we listen to the report tonight?" I asked.

My mother didn't say anything. She doesn't talk much. She just got up to fetch the radio. I watched her cross the room, which wasn't very far. She and I looked a lot alike. It was like looking into a futuristic mirror. Me but older. Even with little Kimmy, there was an uncanny resemblance. We were all like clones of each of, but at different ages. There was close to no resemblance to my father.

"Yay!" Kimmy chirped. Bouncing in her chair. She loved to listen to the report.

Mom played with the radio dials until the sound of static was replaced with the familiar voice of Ricky, the report host. "Good evening citizens of Illéa. We have a real treat for you tonight. I will be announcing the thirty-five girls that will be packing their suite cases and making their way to the castle to compete for our prince's heart. Now Prince Jeremy has not seen pictures of the contestants, and will be seeing them for the first time has their name and picture shows up on the screen. Are we ready?" He talked in a much-showcased voice. I always wondered if he always talks like that. You could hear the live audience clapping and shouting in the background urging him to continue and tell them the names. "Okay, okay the audience is ready. Are you Prince Jeremy?" A different voice then spoke out to the audience that I could only guess it to be the prince.

"I am excited and nervous at the same time Ricky. One of these thirty-five women will be my wife." You could hear a little laugh he gave that followed. The laugh made my stomach knot. I could tell it was a forced laugh. A laugh that was supposed to cover the pain he was feeling. I was a master at that laugh. It never accrued to me that the prince might not want a selection. What guy wouldn't want thirty-five girls fighting over him?

"Then let's get started," Ricky said breaking me away from my thoughts. He began to call out names one by one and with each name he called my hopes of being picked grew fewer. I counted the names has they came keeping track of how many girls that had been picked and how many chances I still had left. Twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two, Clare Eger, thirty-four, wait what? I looked at my family trying to find reassurance that my name was called and I had not imaged it, but their faces looked a lot like mine did.

"Was I picked?"

"Did you enter?" It was my father who asked.

"Yes, but I didn't think I would actually be picked."

"I heard your name. It was you, you were picked." This time, it was Kimmy who spoke. Excitement filled her voice.

"Why would you enter? It's not like you to spoon over a boy." My father asked.

"I did it for you, and mom, and Kimmy." There was a long period of silence.

"Clare's going to the palace. Do we get to go with her?" Kimmy asked breaking the silence.

"No. Only if she wins we can go. Which I fulling believe she will. She is a stunning lady and any boy would be head over heels for her." This time, it was my mother who spoke. We looked at her, but no one said anything. It's been a long time since something good happened to us and I think we were all in shock. We stayed in silence listening to the report. When the report finished the silence was suffocating.

"Did I do something wrong?" I asked as we were getting ready for bed. I didn't think me entering and being picked would lead to this. I imagined a celebration, not defining silence.

"I think it's amazing," Kimmy answered. There was a smile on her face the reached ear to ear, but it quickly vanished when she saw dad's expression. His face was stern and unusually cold.

"There is nothing wrong with your decision. I only wished you had talked with your mother and me first."

"I didn't want to let your hopes up."

"Hopes for what?" My father asked almost shouting.

"To get out of here, for a better life, for a better education for Kimmy, to not be scared anymore. I wanted to help." My voice was raised to match his.

His stern cold expression changed to a tried one has he let out a breath. "You shouldn't have to do that."

"But I did and I will do it again."

"You have grown so much, sweet girl." Was all he said as he pulled me into a hug. Kimmy jumped over the partially made bed to join the hug. It made my heart warm to know that it wasn't just a thought anymore that might bring safety to my family, it was an actual possibility and all I needed to do was win the prince's heart.


End file.
